A sit-down stand-up with Ricky Gervais
Interviewed by Tinderblogger Ben Hodgson
Ever wondered what it’s like to stare
down the wrong end of a sawn off shotgun? I couldn’t help feeling I was about
to get my head blown off as I sat down for a one to one interview with
Britain’s most wanted and dangerous comedian. ‘Just do it,’ I thought, ‘pull
the trigger and get this over with.'
I was called to a London recording studio where Gervais, cast as a canine in the latest Miramax ‘Spy Kids’ movie, was voicing the part of ‘Argonaut’ the dog in the hugely popular film series. Determined to get under his skin and find out just what sort of breed Gervais really is, I paid close attention to his every move. I mean just how hard can it be to bark a few lines of script into a microphone I wondered? “That's how I like to do a whole movie. Sitting in a chair talking bollocks for a few hours.” Gervais quips on his blog, making it sound like it’s as easy as he makes it look. But seeing him in the studio with a line of script is to watch a terrier grab hold and not let go until it’s been shaken to within an inch of its life.
It’s much the same when you throw him a question. He won’t field it like a well trained spaniel but hi-jacks it like some manic red setter and won’t give your ball back until he’s taken it for a surreal trip around the garden and had his fun with it. Spy Kids Director Robert Rodriguez (’Sin City’, ’From Dusk till Dawn’ ) took a creative risk in casting a dog with a mind of its own to carry his script, but although it may be torn it to shreds, it’s the better for being played with.
How they must have wished they’d booked a performing circus dog for the Golden Globes rather than the overgrown puppy that messed all over their parade. Didn’t they know he can’t be house trained? Talking of training, the cuddly Office labrador that ate anything has been pounding the treadmill to emerge as some kind of muscle-bound pit-bull and when his eyes are fixed on you it’s like... staring down the wrong end of a sawn-off shotgun.
So: retriever, labrador, red setter, terrier, circus dog or overgrown puppy? In the end I gave up trying to classify the man, although when he sinks his comical teeth into the likes of homophobia and racism I’m left thinking 'mongrel' – the most intelligent of breeds.
I was called to a London recording studio where Gervais, cast as a canine in the latest Miramax ‘Spy Kids’ movie, was voicing the part of ‘Argonaut’ the dog in the hugely popular film series. Determined to get under his skin and find out just what sort of breed Gervais really is, I paid close attention to his every move. I mean just how hard can it be to bark a few lines of script into a microphone I wondered? “That's how I like to do a whole movie. Sitting in a chair talking bollocks for a few hours.” Gervais quips on his blog, making it sound like it’s as easy as he makes it look. But seeing him in the studio with a line of script is to watch a terrier grab hold and not let go until it’s been shaken to within an inch of its life.
It’s much the same when you throw him a question. He won’t field it like a well trained spaniel but hi-jacks it like some manic red setter and won’t give your ball back until he’s taken it for a surreal trip around the garden and had his fun with it. Spy Kids Director Robert Rodriguez (’Sin City’, ’From Dusk till Dawn’ ) took a creative risk in casting a dog with a mind of its own to carry his script, but although it may be torn it to shreds, it’s the better for being played with.
How they must have wished they’d booked a performing circus dog for the Golden Globes rather than the overgrown puppy that messed all over their parade. Didn’t they know he can’t be house trained? Talking of training, the cuddly Office labrador that ate anything has been pounding the treadmill to emerge as some kind of muscle-bound pit-bull and when his eyes are fixed on you it’s like... staring down the wrong end of a sawn-off shotgun.
So: retriever, labrador, red setter, terrier, circus dog or overgrown puppy? In the end I gave up trying to classify the man, although when he sinks his comical teeth into the likes of homophobia and racism I’m left thinking 'mongrel' – the most intelligent of breeds.
Stay tuned for a link to the full interview.
 |
| email Ben |
Ben Hodgson on LinkedIn
No comments:
Post a Comment